Top image - unknown.
Bottom image: Alfred Eisenstaedt. Model Looking in the Mirror of Fashion Designer Molineux, Paris.
La Comtesse di Castiglione
Virginia Oldoini, Countess of Castiglione (22 March 1837 – 28 November 1899), better known as La Castiglione, was an Italian courtesan who achieved notoriety as a mistress of Emperor Napoleon III of France. She was also a significant figure in the early history of photography.
Her cousin, Camillo, conte di Cavour, was a minister to Victor Emmanuel II, king of Sardinia (that included Piedmont and Savoy). When the Count and Countess traveled to Paris in 1855, the Countess was under her cousin's instructions to plead the cause of Italian unity with Napoleon III of France. She achieved notoriety by becoming Napoleon III's mistress, a scandal that led her husband to demand a marital separation. During her relationship with the French emperor in 1856 and 1857, she entered the social circle of European royalty. She met Augusta of Saxe-Weimar, Otto von Bismarck and Adolphe Thiers, among others.
The Countess was known for her beauty and her flamboyant entrances in elaborate dress at the imperial court. One of her most infamous outfits was a "Queen of Hearts" costume.[2] George Frederic Watts painted her portrait in 1857.[3] She was described as having long, wavy blonde hair, pale skin, a delicate oval face, and eyes that constantly changed colour from green to an extraordinary blue-violet.
In 1856 she began sitting for Mayer and Pierson, photographers favored by the imperial court. Over the next four decades she directed Pierre-Louis Pierson to help her create 700 different photographs in which she re-created the signature moments of her life for the camera. She spent a large part of her personal fortune and even went into debt to execute this project. Most of the photographs depict the Countess in her theatrical outfits, such as the Queen of Hearts dress. A number of photographs depict her in poses risqué for the era -- notably, images that expose her bare legs and feet. In these photos, her head is cropped out.
Robert de Montesquiou, a Symbolist poet, dandy, and avid art collector, was fascinated by the Countess di Castiglione. He spent thirteen years writing a biography, La Divine Comtesse, which appeared in 1913. After her death, he collected 433 of her photographs, all of which entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Born Virginia Elisabetta Luisa Carlotta Antonietta Teresa Maria Oldoïni, (French: Virginie Élisabeth Louise Charlotte Antoinette Thérèse Marie Oldoïni) on 22 March 1837 in Florence, Tuscany to Marquis Filippo Oldoini and Marquise Isabella Lamporecchi, members of the minor Tuscan nobility, she was often known by her nickname of "Nicchia". She married Francesco Verasis, conte di Castiglione, at the age of 17. He was twelve years her senior. They had a son, Giorgio.
Her cousin, Camillo, conte di Cavour, was a minister to Victor Emmanuel II, king of Sardinia (that included Piedmont and Savoy). When the Count and Countess traveled to Paris in 1855, the Countess was under her cousin's instructions to plead the cause of Italian unity with Napoleon III of France. She achieved notoriety by becoming Napoleon III's mistress, a scandal that led her husband to demand a marital separation. During her relationship with the French emperor in 1856 and 1857, she entered the social circle of European royalty. She met Augusta of Saxe-Weimar, Otto von Bismarck and Adolphe Thiers, among others.
The Countess was known for her beauty and her flamboyant entrances in elaborate dress at the imperial court. One of her most infamous outfits was a "Queen of Hearts" costume.[2] George Frederic Watts painted her portrait in 1857.[3] She was described as having long, wavy blonde hair, pale skin, a delicate oval face, and eyes that constantly changed colour from green to an extraordinary blue-violet.
In 1856 she began sitting for Mayer and Pierson, photographers favored by the imperial court. Over the next four decades she directed Pierre-Louis Pierson to help her create 700 different photographs in which she re-created the signature moments of her life for the camera. She spent a large part of her personal fortune and even went into debt to execute this project. Most of the photographs depict the Countess in her theatrical outfits, such as the Queen of Hearts dress. A number of photographs depict her in poses risqué for the era -- notably, images that expose her bare legs and feet. In these photos, her head is cropped out.
Robert de Montesquiou, a Symbolist poet, dandy, and avid art collector, was fascinated by the Countess di Castiglione. He spent thirteen years writing a biography, La Divine Comtesse, which appeared in 1913. After her death, he collected 433 of her photographs, all of which entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Via Pinterest
Oh my heart........4 year-old Paige Bennethum really, really didn’t want her daddy to go to Iraq. So much that when Army Reservist Staff Sgt. Brett Bennethum lined up in formation at his deployment this July, she couldn’t let go. No one had the heart to pull her away.
Keali'i Reichel - Maunaleo
Keali'i Reichel - Maunaleo lyrics
He aloha nö `o Maunaleo
I lohia e ke kilihuna
Kohu `ahu`ao no ka uka
He kamalani kamaehu kau i ka hanoë
He kamalei, kamahiwa pä i ka lani ë
Po`ohina i ka `ohu kolo
Kahiko no ka poli `olu
Apo `ia e nä kualono
He hi`ina, hi`alo, alohaë
Hi`ipoli, hi`ilei, hi`ilanië
Eia ku`u lei aloha
No Maunaleo i ka nani
`Ohu`ohu i ka Mälie
He kamalani kamaehu kau i ka hanoë
He kamalei, kamahiwa pä i ka lani e
No Maunaleo ke aloha kü i ka la`i e
Aloha ë, alohaë
English Translation:
Beloved indeed in Maunaleo
Sparkling in the light, wind-blown rain
A finely woven cloak for the highlands
A cherished one, respected for power and strength
Esteemed, treasured, touched by heaven
Capped by the silver of the rolling mists
An adornment for that gentle heart
Embraced by the surrounding ridges
One to hold close, to hold near, to love
One dear to the heart, precious, exalted
This is my garland of affection
For Maunaleo in its beauty
Glorified by the Mälie breeze
A cherished one, respected for power and strength
Esteemed, treasured, touched by heaven
For Mauanleo is the serenity of deep love
Beloved are you, beloved indeed
Shout out - BOL
Shout out to Bolivia. Gracias por leer mi blog.
When I was young I had a friend, Max, from Bolivia.
Aloha Max, wherever you are.
:-)
When I was young I had a friend, Max, from Bolivia.
Aloha Max, wherever you are.
:-)
Red revisited
We are a people for whom imagery is everything.
(Or... at least... a lot.)
We live in a culture super-saturated with iconography.
As much as the visual arts are a language, color is it's own lexicon.
& as much as any color, red has the power to elicit emotion.
So too, the vocabulary of color is super-saturated.
Today I revisit red.
(Or... at least... a lot.)
We live in a culture super-saturated with iconography.
As much as the visual arts are a language, color is it's own lexicon.
& as much as any color, red has the power to elicit emotion.
So too, the vocabulary of color is super-saturated.
Today I revisit red.
